-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- African-Americans are faring slightly worse relative to their white counterparts than they did last year , according to an index released Thursday by the National Urban League .

The group 's 2011 Equality Index stands at 71.5 % , compared to a revised index last year of 72.1 % , the league said as it released its annual report , called The State of Black America .

An equality index of less than 100 % suggests blacks are doing worse relative to whites , while an index greater than 100 % suggests blacks are doing better .

The league attributed the 2011 drop to a decline in the economics index , driven by housing and wealth factors , and to a decline in the health index , driven by children 's health .

Economics and social justice continue to be the areas in which blacks trail whites the most , with ratings of 56.9 % and 58 % respectively . Those are followed by health at 75 % and education at 78.9 % .

Since the Equality Index was introduced in 2005 , researchers have found growing equality between blacks and whites in the unemployment rate , the percentage of uninsured , the incarceration rate , and prisoners as a percentage of arrests , the league said .

The index has also charted growing inequality over that period in rates of poverty , home ownership , school enrollment -LRB- both `` preprimary '' and college -RRB- , and the level of educational attainment -LRB- both high school diplomas and bachelor 's degrees -RRB- .

The index of median household income has remained unchanged , the league said .

In 2010 , the index measured Hispanics in America for the first time . This year 's index finds them faring slightly better than last year compared to their white counterparts , at 76.8 % compared to a revised 2010 index of 76.6 % , the league said .

It attributed the rise to improvements in health and social justice indices , but said those were offset by declines in economics and education .

In the past year , the league said it has observed growing gaps in the relative status of blacks and whites in the areas of loan access , wealth and children 's health .

For Hispanics , there have been growing gaps in the areas of loan access and college enrollment , it said .

The 2011 State of Black America report includes essays from a variety of authors including League President Marc Morial and Democratic strategist Donna Brazile .

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The index measures how African-Americans fare relative to whites

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It is published by the National Urban League

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This year 's index stands at 71.5 % , down from 72.1 % last year

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A number of social factors are behind the decline